Bridge

Until a few decades ago, bridge was clearly one of the most popular sports card games, bringing young players and bridge veterans alike to the table. Today, the popularity of the game may have diminished somewhat due to the emergence of many new games of chance, but for those who want to experience the fun of a traditional game of chance and reminisce about older card games, bridge is the one to play!
bridge

There is no complete agreement on where exactly the game originated. Some believe that bridge originated from whist, an ancient English game, from which it differs in its scoring and betting order. Others claim that the name bridge comes from the Russian word biriuč (a form of Russian whist), and this fact is one of many clues to the roots of Russian bridge. Around the beginning of the 20th century, the so-called "competitive bridge" (Eng. Auction bridge), and from there, using a sophisticated scoring system, contract or contact bridge. Contract bridge). There are two varieties of bridge - sport bridge (sport bridge) and bridge. Duplicate bridge) and rober. Rubber).

  • Robert's Game is played without any additional equipment, and the cards are shuffled and dealt anew each time. This doesn't mean that the game is less fun or less sophisticated - it's simply designed to be played at home, which is why it's sometimes referred to as plain, amateur bridge.
  • Bridge is a game of picks - players try to cut certain cards from each other. Bridge is also more for tournament play. In these, each table of players receives a special flat rectangular box with the countries of the world marked on top. These markings indicate where each player should sit. The box contains compartments in which players place their cards after the hand is played. The box is passed to the next table and its players play a new game by removing their cards from the appropriate compartments. This avoids the luck factor that occurs when some players are dealt more favourably than others, and allows an objective comparison of teams. The game itself consists of 4 phases - card dealing, auction, picking and scoring.

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Rules of bridge

How many players play?

Bridge is played with 4 players. Played in teams of two against two. Team members sit opposite each other at the table and each player's position is called according to the countries of the world - North and South play against East and West.

Instruments needed for the game

Played with a 52-card firewood deck. The cards are in the usual order of rank, with the highest card being an Ace and the lowest a Deuce.

Dealing of cards

Teams are formed by mutual agreement or by drawing cards: the two players who draw the highest cards play against the two who draw the lowest cards. The player who drew the highest card shall be dealt first. Thereafter, the dealers shall take turns.

Deal one card at a time, in a clockwise circle, until all the firewood has been dealt. Each player sorts their 13 cards by family and rank. This ranking helps to make the right decisions during the auction and when playing for hearts.

Bridge auctions and transactions

In each hand, teams aim to earn as many points as possible with the cards they have. The ability to earn points depends on Transaction and from number of points scored.

The deal is struck by agreeing how many points each team is committed to scoring. The deal is competed in an auction - players announce clockwise how many trumps their team could score with or without trumps. The deal is started first by the dealer of the cards, and the winner is the one who offers the highest number of diamonds. So the team's goal becomes to play as well as possible and to try to prevent the opponents from doing so. If the winning team scores the number of picks, or even more, they are awarded the deal. The successful team receives points for the successful deal, and the losing team receives points for the opponents. 

In total, there are even 35 types of transactions:

(7 levels and 5 varieties, so we multiply). In ascending order they are ordered from the smallest 1 Clubs (followed by 1 Drums, 1 Hearts) to the largest 7 No Trumps (preceded by 7 Spades):

Rules of bridge
K - with clubs, B - with drums, S - with hearts, P - with spades, BK - without trumps.
  • The level is incremented from 1 to 7 and the number of accents required is determined by adding 6 to the level, e.g. level 6 + 6 = 12 or level 3 + 6 = 9. Thus, the number of accents can range from 7 to 13.
  • From varieties depends on whether trumps are played. It also decides which family cards will become trumps. At the auction, the families of trumps are announced from youngest to oldest and are ranked as follows: clubs, diamonds, hearts, spades. The minor, or younger, families are considered to be the families of Clubs and Drums and the major, or older, families are considered to be the families of Hearts and Spades. A game without trumps is considered to be a fifth type of game.

In addition, there are 4 main actions that each player can take to complete a transaction:

  1.     Offer the level and variety of play (this is known as publication).
  2.     Double the bonus for completing the transaction (unless the opponent who made the previous bid has conceded).
  3.     Re-doubling the bonus (if the previous opponent doubled).
  4.     Contact (when you are unwilling or unable to do the above).

If you decide not to turn and publish level and variation (1), the opponent, suspecting that you are taking a risk, may Double the bonus (2)if you complete that contract (if you fail, your opponent gets the prize) and your partner completes that contract Double the bonus again (3). This increases your chances of earning more points, even if the risk is high. 

Very good rules

Level and variation. The player declares a level and a variation to indicate his/her intention to implement a transaction of a certain value. The value of the proposed deal is raised by indicating a higher level of play (a higher number of possible picks) or a more valuable variant of that level (an older family or a game without trumps). For example, one player may bid 4 clubs and his opponent 5 clubs. Cards of a lower level cannot be bid! It is also possible to jump through the whole level when competing. For example, they bid 1 heart, the other player can declare 2 spades. It is also possible to jump over two levels, for example, after 1 hearts, 3 spades or after 1 spades, 4 hearts.

Doubling the bonus. The penalty can only be doubled (and therefore the bonuses) if the opponent has already made a bid. This is usually the case at the start of an auction, when low-value deals are offered, and is usually to hint to the partner about the value of the cards available.

Repeated increases in the bonus. The only way to double the value of a proposed deal again is if the opponent has already doubled it. This gives extra points. This action is usually also just a contractual sign and rarely translates into a real deal.

Last auction offer (whether doubled, halved or normally offered) becomes a transaction - the level of play (how many clubs to collect) and the variation (whether trumps will be played and which ones).

The losing pair is called defence team, one of the winning pair (after announcing the game variation) - To applyand his partner - by default. If the deal is 7 spades, the first player to declare spades becomes the claimant, regardless of the stage of the auction at which he did so.

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Collection of axes

Bridge The rules are similar to many other pick games - players take turns placing cards from the same family, and the highest-ranking card or trump wins the pick. A distinctive feature of bridge is that the bettor lays his cards face up on the table and is instructed by the applicant as to which of them to place in the pick, i.e. the applicant plays for two and the bettor merely lays the cards.

Unlike in other pick games, players do not place their cards in the middle of the card table, they place their cards next to each other. When it is clear who has won a pick, the card used for that pick is turned over in one of two ways: if the player or his partner wins, the card is turned over and placed vertically, if the player loses, horizontally. The card for the next die is placed side by side and either placed vertically or horizontally again at the end of the die. This makes it easy to count the number of won and lost axes at the end of the game.

As already mentioned, the division consists of 13 accents. Players place one card in each die. The highest card is an Ace and the lowest is a Deuce.

The first card of the die determines which family of cards must be placed in the die by other players. The first card of the die can be any card. If the other players do not have the required family card, they must place any card. The player with the highest ranking card of the required family wins the die. But if a trump is placed, the owner of the trump wins the pot, if there are multiple trumps, the player who placed the highest ranking trump wins the pot. The player who wins the die starts a new die. If the player wins the pot with the bettor's card, the declarer starts the next pot, but with the bettor's cards.

The game for the first pick shall be started by the player of the defending team sitting to the left of the applicant. When this player places his card, the bettor lays his cards face up on the table in four columns by family and in descending order of rank (for ease of play). As mentioned above, the pawn only follows the instructions of the declarer (by placing the indicated cards), and cannot suggest moves or comment on the actions of the opponent, but can warn the declarer not to make a mistake in placing a pick.

Scoring

When all 13 crosses have been played, points are counted. The winning team gets points for:

  • Every pick offered and taken from the seventh to the thirteenth;
  • All additional accents;
  • Transaction value premiums;
  • Other prizes.

If the applicant team does not complete the transaction, the opposing pair receives points for intercepted picks, i.e. the picks that were missing to complete the transaction.

Another nuance that determines the scoring is the vulnerability of the team. In the first division, both teams are vulnerable, in the second division the East and the West are vulnerable, in the third division the North and the South are vulnerable and in the fourth division both teams are vulnerable.

Extra points are also awarded for breaking records - small and large. The minor record is 12 picks won in a hand, the major record is all 13 picks won.

So, as you can see from the rules, bridge is a very interesting and addictive card game, albeit a bit confusing. Not only professional pairs, but also family members and old friends can try their hand at this game. N, and if you prefer virtual games, you can also play bridge online!

Bridge Club

Although not as popular as poker, bridge has a large number of veteran players who are happy to meet up to play bridge in specially organised pairs tournaments. The number of pairs usually determines the size of the tournaments - sometimes there are just a few pairs, sometimes as many as a dozen, competing for the honour, if not the prize.  bridge club

These tournaments are usually organised by bridge clubs, which can also be found in various Lithuanian cities. It has been noted that a good ten years ago there were more such clubs. Today, there are only a few left, due to the popularity and diversity of other games - King, Poker, Black Jack and many others have also captured the hearts of players and bridge clubs have become somewhat overshadowed.

However, the most loyal bridge fans still gather in bridge clubs in Vilnius, Kaunas and Alytus and have a great time playing the exciting game of bridge. It's easy to join a club - just fill in a special form, pay the occasional minimum fee and you become a full member of the club. Veteran bridge players play there in pairs championships for average score (IMP) and pairs championships for maximum score (MAX). The best pairs are also evaluated by the Lithuanian Sport Bridge Association, invited to the national team selections and later, if successful, sent to the World Bridge Championships. Interestingly, at the end of 2020, after 11 years, the 13th European Small Federations Games will take place in Vilnius. In addition, two teams will be able to represent Lithuania at these Games, using the hosts' rights in the event of an odd number of participants, so don't miss your chance too!

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Bridge clubs in Lithuanian cities: Kaunas, Vilnius, 

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